About Me

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I am a Mom of two young lads, a fitness fanatic and wife to a die-hard Packers/Brewers fan. I worked in corporate america for 12 years. Now I am on a new adventure - raising my sons and working part-time in the fitness industry as a Personal Trainer and Group Exercise Instructor. I hope you stop by and read my updates- family, fitness, or life related!

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Braden John: 4 years + 1 month & 4 years + 2 months




Braden is just a bit over four, but somedays I think he is about 10. He catches things that I miss, he remembers names really well (unlike me) and he also corrects me if I get a minor detail wrong. Sounds just like someone else in our household, hmmmm. :)

The best things about Braden (if I had to narrow it down) are the following: He has a pretty laid-back demeanor but likes to stay busy, he is always up for anything, he is easily excited about little things (I hope this lasts a bit longer), he listens fairly well, he doesn't typically put up a fight if he is mad about something (less tantrums for me and just a "oh man" instead). I also like that he likes to be challenged, choosing the seek-n-find books everynight for his bedtime book. I also love how he gets a big smile on his face when he is proud of himself - like when he writes his name right.

Even though Braden and Liam are now into a lot of the same things, Braden is a good big brother showing his little brother how to do things or helping him (and me) out. Of course there is plenty of fighting, but I am sure it's hard to have someone smaller taking all of your stuff. I laugh when I find "secret" stashes of toys around the house. The big milestone as of late, is Braden moved into n official big boy bed- a step up from his "little boy bed" (crib with the rails off). He now sleeps in a twin bed and looks like a tiny little boy. I prefer him this way than hanging off the crib size mattress! :)

Braden attends pre-school two days a week and loves it. He will have one more year of pre-school since he has a fall birthday and has to wait another year for Kindegarten. I hope to keep him challenged and busy that last year! Right now it's a bit hard when we have to be home for Liam's naps. I can't blame him as I like to be out and running around a lot too. Hopefully this winter I can keep him moving and busy despite the cold! (May not be a problem as you can see in the shoveling pic above).

We are super excited for Christmas this year. Braden is already picking out things he wants and he actually listens to me when I tell him that Santa is watching so we must be good! We love watching Braden grow and learn each month, he is slowly becoming a little man - one that makes us so proud to call our own.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Liam Jude: 2 years + 2 months & 2 years + 3 months




So I am a little behind in my monthly updates on the boys. I am not sure where the time has gone. Work has gotten a bit busier for me, Joe has been extremely busy with a new job and travels, and the boys are keeping active as ever. I am not sure how I keep up!

Little Liam is growing into his two's! He is funny, smart, full of energy, has full conversations and can be loving one minute and throwing a tantrum the other minute :) Liam is doing whatever he can to do exactly what his big brother does. He has started potty training somewhat. He speaks in 6 or 7 word sentences telling me "Mom, I am done sleeping now can I get up?" as an example. He  loves to go places, but after some time will say "Can we go home now please?" He is my little homebody. He is also obsessed with puppies and Lightening McQueen. He asks for the Cars movie everyday. He wants to wear his big brother's Car slippers. He jumps up and down when he sees Mater or Lightening McQueen toys at Target. His obsession with puppies has grown greater and greater each day. Liam wants to wear his puppy shirt everyday, sleep with his puppy costume in his crib every night and he has a stuffed puppy that he sleeps with as well. It takes some wrestling and a few tantrums just to get the puppy shirt in the washer. :) I think he is a man of comfort, opinions and security.

Liam will also be the kid that screams at Target at the top of his lungs or takes off running and doesn't come back. He is a bit of a rebel, does quite a few time outs a week, but at the same time will give me lots of hugs daily, holds doors open for strangers and says please and thank- you often. He is quite the character. It is so fun to watch Liam grow and grow. His personality is spunky and funny. He likes to trick me by hiding behind the curtain or putting something on his head and trying to balance. He knows how to play games on the Iphone (yikes) and will ask me, "Mom do you have class tonight?" and say "oh, ok!" when I respond. He just gets everything now. He cracks us up daily and we cannot wait to watch this two-year-old grow and grow as we are sure there will NEVER be a dull moment.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Halloween 2013

Our little guys had quite the Halloween this year filled with candy, costumes, running from house to house, and playing with neighbors. We had a Batman and a Puppy. Liam was supposed to be Spiderman, but he fell in love with this Puppy costume he found at my sister's over a week ago. He has barely taken the thing off. Here it is two days post-Halloween and he is still wearing it. I managed to sneak in a wash, but the thing comes to bed with him so he can hug it. Man, he loves his puppies. I hope you all had a happy and safe Halloween. For us, it gets a little more fun each year. Braden did pretty well and Liam got a little chilly and only wanted to go to a dozen houses or so which was perfect for him. We didn't manage to capture a family photo, but the little ones are the only ones anyone wants to see anyway!

 
 
Braden also had a preschool program that day, so we got to go see him and his classmates sing in their costumes. Boy are they cute!

 
Also, earlier in the week Bapa Sullivan had a pumpkin carving  and spaghetti party. All 10 cousins were there for the fun. It's always awesome to see them together as they range from 20 to 2. We had a super fun Halloween week. I also dressed up about four times at the Y for our big Jillian Michael's BodySHRED launch and I always like to dress up the week of Halloween to make class festive along with Halloween songs. I think we will all sleep good this weekend now that the festivities have calmed down. On to November now- can't believe Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away. This year is flying by!